Always There
by somethingofdreams
Summary: Jinora reconnecting with her grandfather in an unexpected way
1. Chapter 1

"Grandpa Aang!" she whispered as her eyes flew open. Jinora lay perfectly still in her bed as the soft breeze blew past her, rippling the sheets over her ever so slightly. Jinora closed her eyes again and a gentle tear fell from the corner of her eye. Ever since Jinora was old enough to speak she had been asking where her grandfather was.

"He's not here anymore, Jinora," Pema said solemnly as she cradled her toddler.

Almost on cue, a girl came running in, ponytails bouncing all over the place. Pema straightened out and smiled. "Jinora," she said turning her oldest daughter's face to meet the young girl, "I want you to meet Korra. She's going to stay with us for a couple days."

Jinora jumped back as the young girl's blue eyes suddenly appeared only inches away from her face. They were filled to the brim with excitement.

"Can I hold her?" Korra clapped with joy. Reluctantly Pema agreed to hand over her 2-year-old daughter to the avatar. Korra wasted no time and grasped Jinora in her arms, holding her tightly.

"Careful," Pema protested. But Korra was hardly listening. Korra flopped down onto the bed holding Jinora as she let out a faint whine at Korra's brash behavior. Determined to bond with what appeared to be her new playmate, Korra folded her legs and leaned over to position Jinora in such a way that the two girls faced each other.

But as the girls' eyes met, Korra suddenly grew still and Jinora fell silent. Minutes passed before Jinora finally reached out a hand to touch Korra. Korra bent over until the toddler's hand rested on her cheek and folded her hand around Jinora's ever so gently. The young airbender's eyes widen with wonder and the rest of the world fell away as the two stared at each other in awe.

One of the air acolytes walked in as Pema stood off in the distance, watching.

"What do you think they're doing?" the air acolyte whispered.

Pema shook her head wordlessly.

From that moment on, Jinora and Korra always seemed to have a special connection.

There was the time Jinora was practicing her air scooter technique when Korra walked up behind her, almost frightening the daylights out of her.

"I didn't know you were here!" Jinora beamed as she threw her arms around Korra.

Korra laughed. "Sorry I scared you. By the way… you're really good at the doing the air scooter."

Jinora looked away, "yeah but I haven't mastered it. I keep messing up. I'll get it going but for some reason I can't stay on it for very long before I fall off."

Korra put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You'll get it," she said with a smile, "I believe in you."

The two girls' eyes met again and their gaze held. Jinora's face softened at the sight of Korra's smile.

"I'm going to try it again," Jinora turned confidently. She bent a ball of air and narrowed her gaze as she jumped onto it. She closed her eyes in fear but after a few seconds realized she had made it. Nervous she tried bending the air scooter around only to find that, this time, it was easy. Jinora gasped with excitement as she took off around Air Temple Island.

"Look Korra! I've master the air scooter!" Jinora called out. Her eyes lit up and she felt as if she were flying. She turned her head long enough to see Korra in the distance, clapping and jumping up and down.

"Go Jinora!" she yelled back.


	2. Chapter 2

Jinora sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, removing the tear that had almost made it down to her chin. There was a soft knock on the door followed by her mother walking in.

"Hello Jinora," she said softly as she sat down on the bed next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Jinora asked tiredly.

Pema took a deep breath. "I'm here because… Korra needs to go back into the spirit world. Your father thinks something may have happened and Korra needs to find out. Do you think you could help her?"

Jinora perked up. Going into the spirit world was one of her favorite things in the world. "Of course!" she smiled.

Jinora quickly got dressed and ran into the dining area where she found her father, Korra and some air acolytes around the table, discussing the turn of events. Korra turned just as Jinora walked through the doorway.

"Ready for another trip into the spirit world?"

Jinora nodded, "you bet!"

"Well then, you girls better get on with it," Tenzin said with a hint of urgency in his voice. "Hopefully nothing too terrible has happened that can't easily be reversed."

"We'll be fine," Korra reassured. She playfully nudged Jinora. "C'mon, spirit buddy. Time to go on our next adventure."


	3. Chapter 3

Jinora sat down quietly on the chair in the dining room. Korra and Jinora had returned from the spirit world and were successful in their mission. As Tenzin grilled Korra about every detail, Pema quietly walked over and pulled up a chair next to her daughter.

"Well? How'd it go?" Pema asked.

Jinora turned and smiled, "it went great. It was nice going back to the spirit world. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I went back."

"That's good to hear!" Pema said as she wrapped an arm around Jinora.

As Tenzin finished his interrogation, he got up and walked over to where Pema and Jinora were sitting. A smile cracked on the old man's face as he placed a kind hand on her shoulder and bent down to face her.

"Jinora, I want to tell you… I'm so proud of you. For everything. Entering the spirit world, guiding the avatar… It's everything your grandfather would've been proud of if he were still here to see it."

Jinora smiled. "I know that. I've always known that."

A quizzical look came across Tenzin's face. "Oh?" he asked, "how have you always known that?"

Jinora sat back in her seat as a calm expression came over her face. She raised her arm and pointed at Korra.

"I know because…

_he never left."_


End file.
